Total sales grew 1.1 per cent, but – according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) – that is the lowest growth in total sales since November 2011, excluding Easter.

The figures cover all retail sectors, including online sales. The bicycle retail industry doesn't have any one body or organisation recording regular sales statistics, a void into which research giant GfK is hoping to step.

"Unfortunately it looks like the modest sales revival we saw in September was something of a false dawn," said British Retail Consortium director general Stephen Robertson.

"And October's poor performance wasn't a one off. Year-to-date average growth hasn't outpaced inflation, meaning overall sales volumes are going backwards. Within that, October's online, non-food, results were especially poor. The last three months now include the two weakest growth rates we've recorded in four years. The disappointing figures are a reminder of the difficult economic realities many are still facing."

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